Przepraszam, jestem za późno!

Ladies, gentlemen and gentle men,

I dedicate this post to say sorry, be repentant, show regret & offer my apologies towards my sudden disappearing act. Having done that, I would now like to touch upon the cause of my absence.

To tell you the truth, the last few weeks have been, as I may put it, an out-of-suitcase experience for me. Days of scheming, loads of buttering, a few threatening emails and one hostage scenario later, my boss finally agreed to send me to a much awaited trip to Poland.

The trip was in many ways a memorable experience and unlike my other business trips, for some good reasons as well.

Apart from the fact that my luggage or I wasn't lost in transit, the hotel which I was put in was kind of classy and 4 starish. To give you an idea, it was one of those places where you could easily get intimidated by the housekeeping staff. My room in particular had perhaps the best view of all, as its windows gave way to a high definition view of the swimming pool and the sauna room.

Such was the charm of the place that I couldn’t help but pick a few travel souvenirs which mainly consisted of half a dozen shampoo bottles, a pair of bathroom slippers, the tv remote, some silverware and the hair dryer by the time I checked out.

Things turned out to be very bright and productive on the work front as well. Though the office floor starkly reminded of the one here in Mumbai, the people were of a pleasing nature and most spoke good Pinglish (Polish + English) as well. Prior to a minor accident at the pantry involving me and some of the equipment, which ultimately rendered the coffee vending machine useless, my presence on the floor usually attracted welcoming smiles and an occasional 'Namasthey!' as well.

My escort, who also happened to be my counterpart at work and a die hard Bollywood fan, was kind enough to show me some interesting places in & around Krakow. Thanks to some vicious rumours doing rounds in emails across the Indo-Polish borders, Marcin insisted that I must sing a Bollywood song and mimic Shahrukh Khan. It was only when I actually relented to his demands did he learn that I wasn't really known for such talents.

Otherwise, our guys day out together was largely enjoyable and fun. Perhaps, if I only hadn't got carried away by his 'Krakow looks best on foot!' advice, I would have saved myself a walking marathon and my legs from cramping under the coach class seat on my return flight. Now I am counting days before he gets to visit Mumbai and I put forth a 'Mumbai looks best in local trains, at peak hours!' offer before him. Ha! 8-)

To put it in a nut shell, my maiden trip to the land of vodkas, chocolates and vodka filled chocolate was a memorable experience by all possible means. Now since that I am pretty much back to where I truly belong, I promise to pick from where I had left and continue posting my blogs with no major leakages.

Till the next blog... take care and god bless! :)

PS: For those wondering what caused me to use something that resembles a phrase from a Harry Potter book as the title for this post... 'Przepraszam, jestem za późno!' means 'I am sorry, I am late!' in Polish. :)